August 2008 Archives

Brave Quarterback Tecmo Superbowl Side Story?
Dead or Alive Tactics: Advance 2?
Ninja Gaiden X-2?

Who knows what will come of this?  Square-Enix or Squeenix, as I like to call them, has expressed interest in a friendly takeover of TECMO, the company responsible for Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden.

No official word yet, but this could be interesting. However, with Itagaki and so much of his crew gone, it's hard to imagine their core franchises having much staying power.  Both being hard core titles, the players of them tend to be the type who know the name Itagaki and what kind of game that brings with it.

You can now comment on this blog not only using Livejournal, but also OpenID or, most importantly, anonymous.

One thing I run into often are games that I really, truly want to like, but just don't.

Usually this is because the game is just too hard for me.  I am no slouch when it comes to games.  I managed to beat God of War on hard, and I've pulled 15 million on Geometry Wars, I made it almost to the end of Ninja Gaiden... on easy... dammit.

Like I said, I'm not bad but I'm not great.  So I can appreciate games like Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Alien Hominid, and Ikaruga, but I won't buy them because it's just not fun when you can't pass the first level.  It's not for lack of trying, either.  As my wife will attest, I sit and swear at the TV for hours as I switch between Braid, Ninja Gaiden 2, and Geometry Wars 2.

My reasons for playing games are a mix of what I get out of movies, books, comics and puzzles.  I like the interactivity, I like being able to inject myself into the story, but I also like having a well-crafted story with music and characters for me to enjoy.  As a result my tolerance for too-difficult games is not terribly high.  And then there's the whole dignity thing.  I want to be merciless and play it on normal difficulty and win, but I usually will resort to easy when a game gets annoying or feels broken so that I can enjoy the story and move onto a more entertaining game.

Another common one is that the game is too long.  Japanese RPGs are the main culprit of this.  Surprisingly I made it through Blue Dragon, god knows how, but Lost Odyssey is a different story entirely.

Sure, I'll piss and moan about the whiny characters being all pretty and angsty, but despite those plot and character hang-ups those games CAN be fun.  It's just that you spend a lot of unnecessary time leveling up and fighting unnecessary battles.  The games have arbitrary length added in.

It's that arbitrary length thing that's the real sticking point.  I put a full 125 hours into Oblivion.  I could've just done the main plot and called it good, but there were tons of OPTIONAL things.  I could run away from any battle (just about), I could pass by any dungeon, I could ignore any quest.  Everything was up to me.  In a lot of longer games, about half the time you spend on it just feels unnecessary.

A minor, and rather petty reason that will keep me from a game is that of hype. It's not a question of whether the game lives up to the hype or not, but how much it was hyped.  No one will shut up about Spore, for example.  A friend of mine who might otherwise like it has lost absolutely all interest because no one will shut up about it. I've been there myself.  People have turned me off of bands and movies just by talking about the constantly for weeks and months without end. By the time the game comes out, it feels like I've already invested a year of my life into it and at that point I don't even want to play it anymore.

What puts you off of a game you might otherwise like?

As a relatively new company with a pretty small stable of games, PixelJunk has done a good job of getting everyone to include the company's name in the game titles.  I'm not playing Monsters, I'm playing PixelJunk Monsters.  Having said that, I am, in fact, playing PixelJunk Monsters.  I play it once a week--every Sunday--when my friend John comes over.  The game is pretty and cute, but the best part of it, by far, is the cooperative play.

The Tower Defense style of gameplay is as fun as it always is - meaning you'll hate it if you don't like it on web-based games.  You run around with your little Tiki-looking man and one-by-one turn all the trees into attack towers to defend your mushroom village from puffs, flying puffs, elephant thingies, bees, and other stuff.  Oh, and Spiders.  The spiders are bitches.



I have to say this: The mechanic of replacing trees with towers - each tower having its own firing radius - is interesting. You have to choose the placement of your tower carefully to get the most out your investment. 

I think this has an interesting philosophical implication that PixelJunk could've incorporated into the gameplay as well.  Each time you put up a tower, you're taking down a tree.  In a particularly epic level, you might end up replacing ALL the trees with towers.  Once you're out of trees, the only way to build a stronger tower is to either upgrade your current one or remove it and put down something else.  I'd be interested to see if an environmental aspect could be incorporated into the game.  Not because I dirty hippy tree hugger (I hate camping), but because I think the idea of replacing all the trees in the forest with buildings is an interesting one.

The local cooperative play is essentially identical to the one player, but the ability to coordinate coin-chasing, tower-upgrading, and tower-building with a friend makes the game that much more fun.

Gameplay aside, the graphics are incredibly cute.  Not tiny-baby-kitty-with-a-big-head cute, but still cute.  The art does't exactly all match up in terms of origin, but it meshes well together.  For example, you play as a little Tiki-man, like I mentioned before.  But then you build these European-style cannon towers and then later it escalates to giant flamethrowers and lasers.  Despite that disconnect the art comes together to make a coherent whole and makes for a unique looking game.

I had purchased this on a whim from the PSN store during a sale, but it's quickly become something I look forward to playing every Sunday night for a bit.

Two or three years ago- the last time I had a game blog, I made a post stating that Max Payne 3 was in development, only to find shortly thereafter that the rumored Remedy-developed game is the infamously absent Alan Wake.

Now our buddy (well not OUR buddy, but we like him) Quartermann at EGM, the high emperor of hearsay, brings word that Max Payne 3 is in development, though not by the Lords and Ladies at Remedy, who are too busy working on Alan Wake.  Instead, it'll be handled by the internal Rockstar team that handled The Warriors.

I'm sad to hear that Remedy isn't the team making the game.  The Warriors was a solid game, so we'll see what happens.  They have a high standard to live up to, if you ask me.


Stuck in a computer game again?!


Between this rumor and the upcoming Max Payne movie (news of which dropped in the form of an awesome trailer), it's a good time to be a Max Payne fan.

With Metal Gear Solid 4 still fresh in our minds, Snake's package, Meryl's professional wrestler shoulders, and Akiba's digestive problems still haunting our nightmares, some new MGS news has cranked out.

First is Kojima-san's rumored "return" to the series.  He says he wants to work on other stuff, but things keep pulling him back. Will he be back as director? Probably not, he says.  But as long as he's there in some respect it should keep his unique world view and its strong influence in the story present. [via joystiq.com]

The other news, which I consider more significant, is the departure of Assistance Producer Ryan Payton.  Payton had major influence on the controls for MGS4 and helped keep a western point-of-view in Kojima's circle.  Hopefully his influence is lasting and we don't see some of the overly-complicated controls previous entries sported.

[via kotaku.com]

joystiq has posted an excellent grid that goes through each of the different PS3 SKUs available, listing out things like backwards compatibility and included software.

Silent Hill: Homecoming was set for a September 30 release, but now it looks like the series' potential return to rusted, bloody grace has been delayed until mid-November.  It's not entirely verified, but it seems legit.

Rebar, rusty metal walls, and a faded medical sign? This looks positive...

I hope they manage to get it out on-time, as it would be nice to play it before Halloween, but even saying that I'd rather the guys working on it wait until it's ready.  Silent Hill 4: The Room was such a huge disappointment that I'd be happy to wait a bit longer for a real Silent Hill game.

ETA: Silent Hill: Homecoming is still on for September.  Thanks, Joystiq!

Dear Mr. Hayden Blackman,

You are not as nice to look at as Hayden Panatierre, but you produce a mighty fine video game.

Ms. Hayden Panatierre

Mr. Hayden Blackman

One is pretty, one makes games... you guess!

Anyway.

I was able to give the demo for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed a try last night.  Mr. Blackman keeps saying in all the making of videos that they really wanted to "unleash" the powers in this game.  Everything is unleashed.  Those Storm Troopers? Unleashed! The dog over there? Unleashed!

Seriously, everything is unleashed.

That said, despite being a beginning character you start out badass as hell.  All the moves look cool and they feel really effective.  The Force Grip is fun to control. You can whip guys and objects wherever you want in three dimensions.  Thankfully, the Empire leaves lots of explosive metal things lying around their Star Destroyers, so you can blow lots of dudes up.  One cool thing I did involved ripping a beam off of a bridge and pulling it out into the air next to it.  Next thing you know, there's an exploding tie fighter a few feet past that.  The moves are very satisfying and they make you feel powerful.  It's hard to say how it'll hold up over the course of the game, but a variety of settings to use it in and that kind of thing will keep it fresh.

One thing that I wasn't sure about is the boss battle at the tail end of the demo.  You're fighting the giant flamingo of the star wars universe, the AT-ST.  When you get close to it, you do a series of button presses to take it down, a la God of War.  These sorts of things make for a cinematic good time and help keep cutscenes from being too long without player interaction.  It's a lot better than Devil May Cry, where you get to watch your character do all the flipping and sword swinging while you fall asleep in your chair.

Overall, the experience was very positive and it has me pumped for more.  I'm looking forward to trying out the full game and finally, finally killing some damn wookies!  They're asking for it.

One thing I've always liked about the Ninja Gaiden games is that they, for the most part, feel difficult by design.  Meaning there's not very much instance of "I TOTALLY PRESSED THAT BUTTON" or "Why doesn't this work?!"


However, playing Ninja Gaiden 2 - on easy mode no less - I'm coming to the conclusion that that's not always the case.

Remember that game you used to play as kids - at least I used to play - where the couch cushions or different colored tiles on the floor are ok to step on, but everything else is hot lava?

Well, I think the makers of Ninja Gaiden 2 must've loved that game.

I've arrived at the "Gothic City with Rocket Launcher Ninjas and CyberTanks" Level, and since its the scary fire fiend boss, of course there's snow everywhere.

There are big patches of snow with a single trail of footprints through them.  As long as you walk on that line its ok, but anywhere off that is covered in mines.  And not the "walk on them, they blow up, and then you can walk there" kind, but literally every square inch of the snow is covered and any given spot can blow up as many tmes as you step there.

Also, there are guys with machine guns shooting at you. And sometimes Rocket Launcher Ninjas.

If the stuff only blew up once, I'd call it design, but the difficulty in passing those patches makes me think it's closer to broken, which is disappointing.  Up until this part the game has been, with few exceptions, challenging and fun.  Most of the bosses have been easy but there have been some fun parts.  Now the game has turned into boomerang practice.  The only thing stopping me is that I know my controller won't come back if I throw it.

I suppose I'll try a few more times, but with games like Braid and Geometry Wars available, I'm not going to spend a ton of time on something that feels like it is playing unfairly with me.

When talking about changes between each console generation, talk about graphics, sound, and horsepower are all obvious ones.  One change this console generation has had to deal with though is console features.

Each generation so far has gone through the time-proven process of redesign and rerelease during the aging phase of the console.  The NES went top-load, the Genesis got smaller, the Playstation 2 did a bit of both.

In each case, the console was out for a few years before this happened, and in each case the features stayed nearly if not completely identical.

This generation has been quite different.  Both the PS3 and the Xbox have undergone a NUMBER of changes, and during each metamorphosis a number of features changed.

That's fine, they can have different console versions for different audiences.  But here's what they have to do to make that work: Stop changing the standard feature set.

The Xbox has come with and without a hard drive, with and without high definition cables, with and without wireless controllers.  The lack of hard drive especially sends a mixed message to consumers about what expectations they should have about the console.  My 20gb drive remains easily 75% full at all times.  Maybe I'm not in the majority, but a memory card just does't cut it.  With the additional functionality of storing full games on the hard drive after the fall update, the message is crystal clear: You need a hard drive to full enjoy the Xbox360.  However from the shelves, you can still pick up a 360 Arcade edition.

On the Playstation 3 front, there are so many versions that it's gone beyond confusing.  First there was the 20 and the 60gb.  The 60 had wireless, card readers, 4 usb ports, and of course that big hard drive.  The 20 had 1 usb port, no wireless, no card readers.  Both of those were backwards compatible.  Then the 20 went away to be replaced by the 80.  This has limited backwards compatibility that was software-based instead of through an actual chip on the board. Then the 60 went away for the 40 which had no backwards compatibility at all, though it does include wireless internet.  Now the 80 is going away to be replaced by another 80 with no backwards compatibility at all.

Then there was the whole controller debacle with the SIXAXIS and Dual Shock 3...

In each case some major feature was changed like backwards compatibility or wireless, leaving people wondering, which one do I want?  Am I going to feel the burn a year down the road if I don't have this feature or that one?

So this generation's burden is figuring out the feature list for the modern console.  Will they actually figure it out, or will there be 8 different Xbox Infinity versions and 20 different Playstation 7s?

Guess we'll see...

ETA: Sony has announced a 160GB model for $500 later this year.  It comes with Drake's Uncharted and is otherwise identical to the 80gb version. When will the madness stop?!

I’ll tell you right now: I’m not exactly what you’d call a fan of shoujo manga. That being said, I’ve heard quite a bit about Honey and Clover and wanted to check it out since I hadn’t heard anything even remotely negative about it. I’ve braved the first volume and it’s safe to say this is something worth reading—yes, even if the mere term “shojo manga” sends you running for the hills.

Honey and Clover is a story about a group of students in art college and the love triangles—maybe better to say rhombuses—they create. While there isn’t really a truly main couple or protagonist, it’s clear the story centers on Hagu. Hagu is a very talented artist who also happens to be very, very short. Of course, she gets a lot of attention for this and is constantly being told she looks like a grade-school student.

Check out the full review.

You know those 3 Musketeers commercials, where the bar floats up in the air, and chocolate-crazed women reach desperately for it, knowing it is their one shot at a sane world?

That's also my wallet after a fall game line-up.

At this year's E3, Nintendo introduced not one but two more official peripherals.  By the end of the year, the most enthusiastic of Wii owners could possess the following (accompanied by the game that introduced/utilizes it):

The Classic Controller (Virtual console games)
The Wii Balance Board (Wii Fit now, and Shaun White Snowboarding later)
The Wii Motion Plus (Unknown)
The Wii Speak Mic (Animal Crossing: City Folk)
The Wii Wheel (Mario Kart)
The Wii Zapper (Link's Crossbow Training)
Four Wii Remotes
Four Wii Nunchucks

Here is what I have for my Playstation and my Xbox:
3 controllers for each.  Regular, standard controllers.

So here's the meat of what I'm talking about.  Wii purports to offer a unique experience but to create each experience, they have to introduce a new piece of junk plastic to make it fun. Some of the devices such as the board, the mic, the wheel, and the zapper are each utilized by one or maybe two games currently.  I have this silly pile of plastic sitting in my entertainment center full of extra crap I never use and I haven't even purchased half of those.

This isn't so much a revolution as it is a repeat. I had a light gun, a power pad, an arcade stick, and of course there was R.O.B. the robot and the legendary Power Glove for my NES.  It was the same thing, a closet full of extra pieces.

The Wiis keep flying off the shelves I'll admit, but the attach rate for games on the Wii is pretty poor. People buy the Wii - which comes with Wii sports - and a Wii Play to get that extra remote and call it good.  As Nintendo goes for the mainstream, they try to make things the mainstream likes - sports for everybody, music games, and alternative functionality like exercise.  When each alternative function requires a separate device it stops being appealing.  It's not just a cute little white box.  It's a cute little white box, a board, a pile of controllers, little doodads around the television... it goes on.  The limited use of each of the devices becomes apparent very quickly and none of them hold interest for very long.

Broadening that statement, I have to wonder how long people will maintain interest in all the varied accessories that come with owning a Wii and owning more than Wii sports.  More and more I hear friends muttering about regretting buying the Wii, and it only grows louder as long as Nintendo continues to release toys instead of games.

OK so I should actually use this.

I'll start by talking about Geometry Wars.  It won't be a comprehensive post; you can find those elsewhere.

Now that the arduous task of moving into my house has completed and I've managed to get my Xbox360 back online, the first thing I did was buy Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2.

Even after seeing screenshots of it, I was stunned by how good the game looks.  You think at first that there's only so far you can go with glowy neon shapes, but the visuals have really been stepped up.  GW2 alone is a good argument for high definition screens.  At any given time, the amount of detail and activity on the screen is beyond insane.

The variety of gameplay modes makes the pricetag, higher than its predecessor, really worth it.  There are now SIX gameplay modes with everything from the standard Evolved to some more interesting stuff like Pacifism and Waves.  Pacisicm pits you weaponless against the hordes of sparkling shapes after you. Your only recourse is the gates that litter the screen.  If you can make it through one without hitting the deadly edges, the gate explodes, killing the guys around you.

...That's pacifism by the book!

Anyway, lots of interesting gameplay options in single player alone.  What's REALLY cool is the local multiplayer options.  I haven't had the game long enough to actually dig in, but having local versus and co-op modes is always a plus.  That's what'll really make the game last. 

The thumping music is still there, but with the different game modes you get different music, so that one song won't haunt you in your dreams quite as much.

First off, to anyone viewing this, I'd like to apologize for the downtime of the following services:

VOTAKU Anime Voting System
The Guild messageboard
My awesome? photo gallery

I am working with dreamhost to get this up and running and KEEP it running, but right now it's very spotty.